James Anderson and Graeme Swann as good as Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne, says England bowling coach

It will be a near-treasonable offence back in his native Australia but David
Saker, England’s bowling coach, has claimed that James Anderson and Graeme
Swann are every bit as good a pairing as Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath, two
behemoths of the game with 1,271 Test wickets between them.

Go compare: England's Graeme Swann and James Anderson have been likened to Australia's Shane Warne and Glenn McGrathPhoto: REUTERS

"McGrath and Warne in tandem were amazing but I have seen some spells from Jimmy and Swanny that have been just as good or better at times,” said Saker the day after England’s nine-wicket win at Trent Bridge saw them wrap-up the Test series against the West Indies.

“In Sri Lanka, there were a couple of times, especially late on day four in the second Test, those two reminded me so much of McGrath and Warne. They put so much pressure on Sri Lanka’s batting that the wickets fell.”

James Anderson and Swann have so far taken nine and six wickets in this series to take their own Test totals to 267 and 188 respectively. That is not especially jaw-dropping, but England’s potency, especially at home, where they have now won a record seven successive Test series, is not simply due to two star bowlers but an attack that possesses strength in depth, which is what Australia had during their 15 years of dominance.

“You can compare the two attacks,” said Saker, who is also close to Warne having played alongside him for Victoria. “The Australians were stand-out bowlers, a great group for a long time. McGrath was the true great among the quicks but they had Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie and Andy Bichel as well - they were all fantastic bowlers. We should be saying our group is as good as them.”

As England’s bowling coach, Saker has a vested interest in his charges, though as an Aussie he does not issue praise in public lightly, especially to the old enemy. If empirical proof is needed it is there in the latest International Cricket Council rankings, which have Anderson, Swann and Stuart Broad in the top six, with Tim Bresnan at No 16. The last time England had an attack so highly rated was in the mid-1950s when Tony Lock, Jim Laker, Fred Trueman, Brian Statham and Frank Tyson were all in it.

England have certainly developed a formidable stock of pace bowlers which is why there has been talk of rotation among them. Steve Finn and Graham Onions, plus the recovering Chris Tremlett, would walk into just about every other Test team except South Africa. Instead, they await their turn, hoping for the odd game when injury, or the rare occasion five bowlers are picked, to show their worth.

With the series against West Indies decided and England’s No 1 status assured until they meet South Africa in July, next week’s final Test against Darren Sammy’s side would present a perfect opportunity to rest Anderson, who was suffering from a sore hip at Trent Bridge, and possibly Broad, and to play both Finn and Onions in their place. The reality, though, is that neither Broad nor Anderson will want to miss the chance of taking Test wickets in home conditions against a side offering so many easy pickings.

With Matt Prior also struggling during the match, with bruised fingers and a sore achilles tendon, the issue could of course be taken out of the players’ hands by Andy Flower. England’s team director will not want to take any risks with Anderson, who is seen as a major force in targeting Graeme Smith, South Africa’s captain and a left-handed opener prone to falling lbw against the swinging ball.

At present, England’s medical staff are monitoring the situation and no treatment is planned for what is being termed the usual aches and niggles that follow back-to back Tests. Yet, Saker believes a rotation policy is both desirable and workable if only bowlers would see the long-term picture.

“We’ll probably give it two or three days and then Andy Flower and the selectors will sit down and ask whether rotation is the right thing to do,” said Saker. “We have a lot of hard cricket ahead – we need to make a decision for the good of English cricket.

“There’s no doubt that Anderson and Broad will want to play, it gives them more chance of taking Test wickets. But if they have a Test off here and there, it probably gives them the chance to play longer. Those wickets can be picked up later because their careers will be longer. So there are two ways of looking at it.”